


No one needs to know

by kirynt



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Hurt feelings, Modern AU, Office Sex, Secret Relationship, probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-01
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-07-23 12:58:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16159445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kirynt/pseuds/kirynt
Summary: Kylo Ren is half in love with the Chief Engineer at his mother's firm, Rey Johnson. She is beautiful and brilliant and far too good for him - and it seems like she might agree when she propositions him on the condition that he keep their trysts completely secret. Still, being Rey's secret is better than being nothing at all to her. Right?Based on the prompt "no one needs to know", this started as an angsty one-shot on Tumblr that I've decided to expand.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Come, join me on this journey! I have a general idea of where this will lead us, and updates will be wildly sporadic. Huzzah!  
> Originally from a Tumblr prompt by @justanothersailorscout. I'm on Tumblr as @kirynt, feel free to say hi!

“No one needs to know, right?” Her back was to him as she slid her underwear up her legs, reaching down to scoop her bra and dress off the floor, stepping back into her low heels as she quickly redressed herself. There was nothing performative about her nudity, her eyes averted as she straightened herself up to a presentable standard for their workplace, quickly grabbing tissues from his desk to wipe as discreetly as possible at her thighs. All he could do was watch, shirt unbuttoned and dick still out of his pants, sprawled on the small couch in his office. His hands gripped the sofa cushions under him as she smoothed her hair back into order, fingers itching to tangle in the soft strands as they had only minutes ago when she came apart around him.

“Thank you, Kylo,” she murmured, picking up her tablet and notes before unlocking and slipping quietly through his office door.

Kylo could say nothing.

This was the third time that Rey had let him fuck her. He had been watching her since she started working with him almost a year ago; it sounded lecherous even in his own thoughts, and he supposed it might well be given the result. They were in completely different departments though – she the Chief Engineer while he was CTO. Their paths would cross at executive meetings where she would always impress him with her cleverness, honesty, determination and fucking adorable dimples, until one day the CEO (his mother of all people) suggested they start working more closely on an upcoming program roll-out for the engineering department. Rey had dutifully started to attend weekly one-on-one meetings with him in his office every Tuesday afternoon. Kylo was elated to get the chance to know her better and she did not disappoint. He showed her a side of himself that he rarely showed others; in fact, he was pretty sure most of the office was terrified of him to varying degrees. Not Rey, though.

They worked so well together, he thought – they both spoke in the same conceptual language about the big picture while retaining a good sense for detail and planning. Where he had a tendency to be taciturn and a little abrasive, she was bright and positive. They complemented each other. They balanced. There was more than this instant professional chemistry, though. Kylo couldn’t help but want Rey in a way he had never wanted anyone before.

And so, he had proceeded carefully, slowly. Small touches here and there, watching carefully for and ever-mindful of any adverse signs or reactions from Rey that his contact might be unwanted. They were more or less equals in the workplace, but he knew he would never want Rey to feel pressured or uncomfortable.

Whenever he would smile, laugh or gently touch her, she would blush and beam back at him, her grins blinding him into forgetting his train of thought more often than not. Sometimes her breath would hitch in a little gasp, and her eyes darken subtly as she’d return his touches with light brushes of her own fingertips against his hands. Kylo took absolutely zero care at all to school his features into his usual office-scowl around her, and he knew he probably spent their time together gazing at her adoringly, as smitten as he had ever been with anything in his life. He had been building toward asking her out for drinks ( _a date_ , he practised saying in his head) in one of their Tuesday meetings when Rey had beaten him to the punch … in a way. He’d let his hand linger on hers as she passed him her tablet, and then she blurted out, “Do you want to have sex?”

He’d stared intently at her, watching her lick her lips as she took a deep breath. She placed her tablet on the table between them and brought her hand back to his, still outstretched between them. She laced their fingers together and all Kylo could do was nod, swallowing hard, ready to follow Rey wherever she would lead him.

“I don’t want anyone to know about this. Is that OK?” she whispered, her eyes soft and pleading.

He didn’t even think, just nodded wordlessly again. _Yes, Rey. I will give you anything, Rey._ His plans of taking her out, of blossoming romance and courtship and _relationship_ seemed further away than they had in a while. He schooled his features into seriousness so she wouldn’t see his face falling. Rey still wanted him, just not quite the way he _wanted_ to be wanted.

“I’m clean and I’m on the pill, are you clean? I’d rather not leave used condoms lying around the office,” she trailed off nervously, squeezing his hand, thinking ahead with the practicality, he supposed, of an engineer.

He found his voice finally. “I’m clean. No one needs to know.”

“No one needs to know,” Rey echoed. With that, she stood and walked around his desk to where he sat, clearing space to one side of his keyboard. She perched on the edge of his desk and met his eyes nervously, spreading her legs slightly while nodding at him in invitation. Kylo swivelled his office chair and stood, taking the couple of steps it took to stand between her knees, bringing his hands to the smooth skin of her knees to push them far enough apart to feel the heat of her bare thighs pressing against his slacks. One hand roamed up to her hip, while the other slipped up to her face, cradling her and stroking along her cheekbone with his thumb. Rey’s eyes were dark and her mouth was open a little as she took short, shaky breaths. He dipped his mouth to hers and kissed her; her lips were soft and everything he’d been wanting.

Their kisses stayed gentle and tender as they undressed each other, hands running over freshly bared skin, caressing with feather-light fingertips, lips meeting and tongues stroking and lapping at each other all the while. As Rey palmed his stiff cock and rubbed his swollen head around her clit so that she was panting and wet on his desk, he brought their foreheads together with the hand cupping the back of her head, his other hand gripping tightly at her hip. Their mouths were close enough when he slipped inside her for the first time that she breathed in his sharp exhale with a shaky inhale of her own.

***

They didn’t fuck every week – last week they hadn’t met as she’d been away on a work trip. Each time she left, Kylo would sit, conflicted, wondering why he never had the guts to ask why they had to keep this thing between them quiet. He wasn’t completely stupid – she was a young woman working in STEM, he was the boss’s son; surely, she’d have concerns about being seen to earn her position on her back even in a progressive company like his mother’s; but it also touched things deep inside of him that he’d spent years in therapy trying to bury. He was unlovable. He got sent to live with Uncle Luke when things at home got too difficult. His dad was always away travelling. His mom was always working. Rey was ashamed of him. He wasn’t good enough to keep her. He wasn’t good enough for her to want to take all he had to offer. He wasn’t enough. She was perfect and lovely and he was not. Even though many of these thoughts did not ring true, even as they repeated in his mind, they still fucking rang. And anything that rings is going to make noise, whether it’s true or not.

The mixed signals from Rey were also messing with his head. Rey would bestow lingering touches on him, and their eyes would lock and hold as she rode him so beautifully on his scratchy office sofa. The sex they had was passionate, full of low moans and whispers and intimacy, so that Kylo had never felt so connected to another person. But without fail, once they’d both come (her twice, if she gave him the time to manage it) the eye contact would cease, she’d crawl gingerly off him, and she’d murmur her farewell: “No one needs to know, right?”

***

They’d been fucking now for three months, with no one the wiser. Their joint project was close to going live, and Kylo was elated when Rey appeared on a Thursday afternoon after a particularly brutal board meeting with the company’s internal auditors present. It was an unscheduled visit from Rey but a welcome one – instead of letting Rey strip as she had started to do, he collapsed onto the sofa and pulled her into his lap, holding her tightly while he breathed against the soft skin of her neck. She’d been at the meeting too, so she soothed him with the gentle voice he only ever heard when they were alone, punctuating her reassurances with kisses across his hair and face. It was heaven, and exactly what he needed after that shitty audit meeting. He held her tighter, wishing for the thousandth time that they could be together, that he could come home to this warmth and provide her with his whole heart in return.

“Rey, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about us,” he exhaled into her collar. He felt her stiffen and pull away, standing up from where he’d draped her across his thighs as she began to answer him.

“Our project ends soon, I know. I won’t have a reason to keep seeing you. I guess our expiration date’s almost up, huh?” She gave a wry smile as she hugged her arms around her middle.

Kylo’s heart sank. That was not what he’d wanted at all.

“OK,” he agreed quietly. He had the strongest urge to beg or cry, but he did neither. Why couldn’t he just open his mouth and say, _Rey, I want you, I probably even love you?_ As he thought it, Rey’s soft _No one needs to know_ trickled down his spine like a shiver. She stepped carefully back to him and he tipped his face up to look at her; she kissed him sweetly on the forehead and left without looking back.

He went out drinking that weekend with his old buddies Hux and Phasma, getting sloppy-drunk enough to tell them about Rey. None of them worked together anymore, but he still wouldn’t give them Rey’s name. He called her “Sunny” instead. They were sympathetic, but couldn’t see a way forward if she didn’t want to date him. And when he ran into his ex Bazine waiting to get served at the bar, he was sad enough and frustrated enough and angry enough at himself to follow her back to her place. They had sex (neither of them came) before he dashed to her bathroom to puke his guts up. He stumbled out of there as quickly as he could under Bazine’s sneering gaze and Ubered home. He scrubbed himself clean in his shower, fell into his own bed, and finally gave in to the urge to cry. He fell asleep weeping, holding his pillow, wishing it was Rey.

The next Tuesday, Rey arrived in his office, as bright and ready to work as ever, moving them quickly through their agenda for the week. Before he knew it, Rey had slid off her shoes and padded lightly over to lock his office door.

“Is this still OK?” she asked, back against the door, starting to unbutton her blouse with a hesitant little smile, seeming to notice the tension emanating from him.

Kylo stood, brushing sweating palms against his trousers. “Of course, yes, always but Rey, I … I slept with someone else over the weekend and I used protection but I should still get tested again so we’d need to use …” he faded off from his nervous babbling in horror, watching as Rey froze, then un-froze, rebuttoning her shirt and darting back to gather her notes and stuff her feet back into her shoes.

“Rey, wait. Please,” Kylo gasped, dismayed at her reaction. He had no right to be dismayed, something whispered at him. He knew that he would be acting the exact same way if their roles were reversed.

“I’m sorry, I have to go. It’s my fault, I never asked if you were seeing other people. Thank you for telling me. I wanted – I’m sorry, I need to get back to work.”

“Rey, stop! It’s not your fault, it meant nothing and it was a mistake, please don’t leave.”

Rey was flinging open his door and hurrying away.

“Rey!” he yelled after her, but she didn’t stop. People were starting to peer up from their desks at the commotion so he made himself stop. Rey didn’t want anyone to know.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We gain a little more insight into Kylo post-break up (if two people banging in an office while pretending they don't have feelings can "break up") and CEO Leia arrives on the scene. No smut in this chapter, but there shall be smut aplenty again soon .... Enjoy XOXO

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm terribly sorry about the delay between chapters, and for how long it took me to respond to comments. Real life has been a massive fuckwit recently. Your lovely comments and kudos here and messages on Tumblr helped me more than I can say.  
> Also @rileybabe made me a deliciously atmospheric moodboard for this fic! I FEEL LIKE A CELEBRITY. Thank you so much, you wonderful being.

His mother peered at him over her salad, eyes sharp and her tone sharper. “Honestly, Ben, your usual stormy demeanour has turned positively cyclonic recently. Did something crawl up your ass and die, son of mine?”

They were in her airy office, eating lunch. Where his little corner office was snug and – he felt – appropriate, hers was sprawling and bright with a full conference table and entertaining area (with bar). Her PA and receptionist both sat outside in their own separate space visible through the glass panelling that lined an entire wall. He had been summoned to lunch today by said PA, who had been simultaneously vague about the occasion and firmly insistent about his attendance; the sort of balancing act that made for a good support-staff member.

Kylo suspected that he had yelled at enough subordinates since Rey had run out on him a month prior to warrant Leia Organa’s attention – she usually respected his capabilities as their Chief Technical Officer enough to leave him and his department well alone. Today, though, she seemed determined to get to the bottom of things as she watched his jaw sliding backwards into what he knew was a childish pout with great interest. He remained silent, stabbing at his own salad with his spork.

“Don’t want to talk to your mom about it? Fine, fine.” They carried on eating, the sounds of lettuce crunching abnormally loud in the silence of her plush CEO’s office.

It wasn’t fine. He’d fucked up so badly with Rey and he didn’t know what to do, other than mope and generally dial his inner miserable bastard up to eleven. Fuck. And fuck salads. Lettuce tasted like green water.

He had not spoken directly with Rey since that horrible Tuesday. The couple of group meetings they’d attended together had been exercises in torture – he wanted to spend all his time staring at her, tracing the lines and angles of her face with his gaze, memorising her beauty against the now distinct possibility that she might never speak directly to him again. The rest of their work together on the final phases of their project rollout was conducted strictly via their subordinates or email. Rey’s tone was professional and polite as always, as if he had never touched her, never muffled her gasps with his mouth as he moved inside her.

“Since you’re here, and I value your advice, I wonder if you might help me with one of my protégés. I know you haven’t started mentoring anyone yourself yet, but I think a fresh set of ears might help me.”

Kylo grunted his assent around a mouthful of tomato and feta.

“I know you’ll keep this confidential, because it’s about Rey Johnson.”

His eyes flew to meet his mother’s as he gulped down a mouthful of food. “Rey Johnson? Oh.” He felt his stomach drop and his ears flush red.

“Yes, it’s the strangest thing. She came to see me a couple of weeks ago to ask if I’d consider transferring her position to our Takodana office.”

If his stomach had dropped before, it was now taking the elevator down to the ground floor. Not only was Rey never going to speak with him again, he likely would never see her again. Kylo tried to cover his dismay by shovelling another sporkful of greens into his mouth.

“Mmm, she had a pretty comprehensive list of reasons about how it would benefit the business, but honestly Ben I’m worried about her. She’s made so many friends here in the city – she and Poe and Finn are as thick as thieves!” At this, Kylo winced. Rey was impossible not to like, and of course she’d made many friends and started to put down roots in the company. He couldn’t help but feel like he was fucking everything up for her with this news from his mother. The timing couldn’t be a coincidence.

_Christ, why couldn’t I have left Rey alone?_ No sooner than he had thought this, had he dismissed it and tried to listen to his mother.

“I wanted her to stay here in head office to learn more about the executive, she’d make a great COO when Ackbar retires, don’t you think? That’s why I’ve had her attending so many meetings and working with you, I want everyone to know how capable and special she is – honey, are you OK?” Leia paused, looking worriedly at Kylo, who was now practically choking down bottled water.

“Food went down the wrong way,” he muttered, pushing his lunch aside, glaring down at his hands to avoid his mother’s speculative look.

“Has she said anything to you? About why she might want a move away from head office? I thought you two might have become friends yourselves while you’ve been working more closely …?”

“Not … close like that, no,” Kylo said carefully.

“I don’t think I’ve been giving her enough opportunities for recognition outside the company, though; maybe she’s feeling a little under-appreciated?”

Kylo winced. He was very sure that Rey was not the type of person to do things simply for potential accolades; also, he was pretty sure he’d betrayed her trust and _that_ was the reason for her needing to leave, but now was not the time to try and dissect that painful subject for the hundredth time under his mother’s watchful eyes.

Leia continued. “I want her to help us run our company one day, so we need to get her name out there some more.” She paused again and gave a pleased little eyebrow-wiggle. “So … a couple of weeks ago I snuck in a late nomination for the two of you for an Engineering Association award for your GJE software project, and I found out this morning that you won!”

His mother was beaming proudly at him. What a fucking rollercoaster of a lunch this had turned into.

“The dinner’s in a couple more weeks. I think we can show Rey that if she stays here with us, we can give her every opportunity to build her profile as an industry leader. And it’s a nice opportunity for the two of you to celebrate what you accomplished, Rey was always talking about how much she liked working with you, my grumpy darling. What do you think?”

Fuck. _Fuck_. His face was flushing. His mom saw Rey as a part of their future – he had wanted Rey’s future, too. He gave Leia what he knew was a pretty dim smile. This _was_ a really nice way for her to thank them for their hard work on their project.

“Thanks, Mom. Rey deserves … well, she’s great and everyone should know it.”

“Ben,” she prodded quietly, “Is there something you want to tell me?”

He shook his head, only half-listening as she gave him the details of the awards dinner. Rey had been avoiding him as much as professionally possible these past weeks, but they would have to talk before they were forced up on stage to make a speech together. He drifted back to his own office down two floors from his mother’s in a daze. He had to fix this. This wasn’t over, him and Rey. It had barely begun. Perhaps that was the problem.

 

Kylo didn’t regret telling Rey about Bazine; Rey’s health was certainly more important to him than any amount of emotional fallout. He kept trying to remember Rey’s words after he’d told her about Bazine, futilely trying to decode them. _I’m sorry; it’s my fault_. He knew she’d said that, but he didn’t know why. Why was she sorry? What was her fault? Clearly him being a massive fuck-up was at fault here, not her. Why would she think this? Something else floated back to him from his memories of that wretched conversation. _I wanted_ , she’d said, before cutting herself off. He huffed mirthlessly. He’d wanted a lot of things from Rey, but how could she possibly have known that? He never asked her what she wanted or even how she felt ( _Does that feel good, Rey_ , whispered in her ear as he fucked up into her, did not count); he’d just agreed with whatever she’d said, then kept getting more and more upset that she didn’t appear to want what he did. Christ, he was an idiot.

This was not how their professional relationship worked – professionally, they communicated well, exchanged ideas, built on each other’s concepts. But by agreeing to everything she suggested from the moment she asked to have sex with him, he was giving her no option but to assume he actually did agree with her. He’d fucked this up so badly in his eagerness to be close to her.

_I wanted_ , Kylo repeated to himself. What did Rey want?

His incoming email notification window appeared, and Rey’s name caught his eye. The subject read _Award?_ and he practically lunged for his mouse to open the email. It was uncharacteristically brief.

_Hi Kylo,_

_Leia just advised me about the award. Let me know when you are available to discuss._

Her signature block starkly completed the communication.

He quickly replied with, _I’m free now if you are, please drop by_ and hit Send before he could lose his nerve. He inhaled deeply as he tried not to let panic set in, trying to put together words in his mind.

A scant five minutes later there was a soft knock at his office door. He sprang up from his desk to stride across his office, flinging the door open to stare down at Rey with wide eyes.

“Hi,” he breathed, letting his gaze rove over her through the dark hair that was falling into his eyes, standing closer to her than he had in weeks. Kylo backed up slowly, letting Rey enter his office as he closed the door quietly behind her. She took her usual meeting seat across the desk from him, smoothing down her skirt. He hesitated – he would usually sit behind his desk when they were working, but he thought a different approach today might help. He took the other guest chair next to hers, turning it so he was facing her. Rey looked at him with serious, curious eyes, her face carefully neutral.

“Mom just told me about the award,” he began, voice rough as he took another deep breath to calm himself. He wanted to be clear today, he wanted to say things exactly as he felt them. “Congratulations, Rey. This is an honour and I think a vote of how much my mother values you and your work.”

“You, too,” Rey murmured. Her gaze was unwavering.

“I do want to talk to you about it, but there are some other things I’d like to say first. I hope you’ll hear me out.”

She paused a moment, tensed, but then nodded. He exhaled shakily.

“Thank you, Rey. That you would still agree to listen to me means a lot.” He watched her closely as her brow furrowed slightly, the same way it would when they discussed some of the more complex build configuration on their project.

Kylo took a deep breath. The worst that could happen was that she would tell him he didn’t matter to her, and she was leaving. He thought fleetingly of Han leaving for the first time when he was eight. He had survived then. He could survive this.

“Rey, I haven’t been honest with you. No, that’s -“ he broke off, shaking his head, feeling his long hair swishing softly around his ears. He brushed it back with shaking hands. “I haven’t been dishonest, I’ve been withholding. Fuck, what am I saying? The distinction doesn’t matter,” he trailed off.

“Kylo,” Rey’s voice was sharper now, and he noticed the rigidity of her jaw and shoulders. “Just tell me. You’re frightening me.”

“I wanted to ask you on a date!” he exclaimed, one hand still running nervously through his hair, the other clenching the sharp crease in the fabric of his dress slacks. “The first time we, we – I wanted to take you on a date, I was practising what I would say like a teenager … but then you asked me what you did, and I couldn’t think. I wanted you to be happy; I wanted to give you whatever you asked for. I didn’t do you the courtesy of asking for anything in return. I didn’t let you know what _I_ wanted. I got so angry with myself that I went out and made a stupid mistake. That’s not who I am.” He was staring at Rey, not breaking eye contact, imploring her to believe him with everything that he had.

“I am so disgusted with myself. I think I said I was sorry when I told you, but I’ll say it again today. I am sorry I did that to you. I was drunk and upset with myself for putting myself into a position that was hurting me. Being kept a secret brought up some really old stuff that I thought I’d worked through in therapy. That’s not an excuse, I want to tell you that about me because I don’t think we took the time to know each other. I wish we would.”

Fuck, he could feel tears welling in his eyes, but he blinked them back, instead trying desperately to decipher Rey’s expression. Her face was tight, and there were spots of colour high on her cheekbones.

He continued, the words tumbling out of him now. He didn’t think he’d ever spoken this much, willingly shared this much of himself in his whole life. “You didn’t want anyone to know, but I want to hear why from you. Because I wanted more than some quick, _stunning_ fucks in my office from you. You are a lot more than that to me, even though I did an appalling job of showing you.”

Rey’s knuckles were white on the arms of his office chair. She turned her head away for a moment, eyes unfocused. She breathed shallowly.

“Your apology is appreciated, but unnecessary,” she said slowly, appearing to choose her words with care, still keeping her face toward his desk instead of toward him. “We never discussed what we were doing, I never asked you for your exclusivity. I reacted poorly when you told me about your other partner.”

Kylo could feel his heart thudding heavily in his chest, echoing in his ears which strained to hear Rey’s words over the dull, lurching beats.

“Your mother is my mentor, has she ever told you that?” she asked, meeting his eyes now, expression guarded yet unreadable. “She’s given me so much. Her opinion means a lot to me, just as much as –“ here she pressed her lips together with a wry smile.

“She is a pioneer, and she is my hero. And she once told me that workplace relationships were never, ever worth it.”

“What?” Kylo breathed.

Rey stood up, looking down at him. Her wry little smile had turned sad.

“I could never disappoint her. I think of her like the mother I definitely never had.”

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Kylo recalled a funny story Rey had told him from her time in foster care. _Funny in hindsight_ , he had thought at the time; living through a childhood in the system would have likely been extremely not-funny at the time.

“You don’t think we can be anything more because of something my mother said?” he asked disbelievingly. He tried to keep his breathing even.

“She’s not wrong, Kylo. You must know how this would look, how badly things could go for me if things didn’t work out.” 

His suspicions had been right, then. Plus his mother had thrown in her high-handed opinion to seal the deal.

She moved toward his office door. “I’ll leave the speech to you for the award dinner, I wouldn’t know what to say and I don’t think I’m going to go anyway, I really don’t have anything fancy enough to wear so if you could accept on my behalf –“

He interrupted her as he placed his hand firmly on the small of her back, flinging open the door in front of them, and marching them to the elevator.

“Kylo?” she hissed at him as he jabbed at the up button on the wall panel. An elevator arrived, a few people inside, busily tapping away on phones and tablets.

“Everybody. Get. Out.” He was practically snarling now, the infamous temper that usually dissipated around Rey flaring hot and bright as people emptied the space and scurried past him. He thought he might have even heard one of them whimper in fright. Good. He stepped inside, bringing Rey with him. Jabbing at the button for two floors up, the doors closed with a soft snick as he dropped his hand from Rey’s back.

“What are you doing?” Rey asked quietly. Kylo could hear a note of panic in her voice.

“We’re paying my mother a visit,” he managed to grind out.

The doors slid open, and Kylo once more slipped his hand to Rey’s back to propel her gently along beside him, straight out past his mother’s protesting assistant Kaydel, and into the CEO’s office. Leia looked up in surprise from behind her desk.

“Hello, Mom.” He closed the door behind him, after guiding Rey into the room ahead of him with a little pat to her back. “We need to talk.”

Leia’s eyes darted between her son, huffing and glowering at her, and Rey Johnson, who was practically trembling at his side, shooting panicked, side-long glances up at him as he kept one hand on her lower back, his other hand convulsively forming a fist at his side.

“Do we, my darlings?” She slid her glasses off and gestured with them to the chairs in front of her desk, shooting Kylo a familiar glare as she did. Kylo knew that look – it was the look suggesting he had better behave in front of company.

That look be damned. He was getting to the bottom of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kylo's thoughts from chapter 1 on why Rey might not want a public relationship with him:  
> "... she was a young woman working in STEM, he was the boss’s son; surely, she’d have concerns about being seen to earn her position on her back even in a progressive company like his mother’s ..."  
> Is Rey telling the truth in this chapter? Idolising Leia is as good a reason to do anything as I've ever heard, but it may not be the full story ...


End file.
